Manufacture of container structures.



w. H. STREEPEH. MANUFACTUHE 0F CONTAINER STRUCTURES.

` I APPLICATION FILED APR. I2 I9 8.

Patented Mar. 18, 1919.

4 EEEEEEEEEEEE I w. H. STRELPER. MANUFACTURE 0F CONTAINERy STRUCTURES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I2, 1918. 1,297,748, Patented Mar. 18,1919.

. 4 SHEETS-WEET 2.

W. H. STREEPER. MANUFACTURE OF CONTAlNER STRUCTURES. APPLICATION man APR. 12. 191s. l LQS''S'. Patented Mar. 18,1919.l

4 SHEETS SHEET 3.

. 't a dial-mlm' 0@ a am MA www,

W. H. S-TREEPER.

MANUFACTURE 0F CONTAINER STRUCTURES.

APPLICATION FILED ARR. I2, 1918'.

Patented Mar. 18,1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

WILLIAM HENRY STREEPER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 STOKES & SMITH COMPANY, 0F SUMMERDALE, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYL- VANIA, .A CORPORATION 0F PENNSYLVANIA.

MANUFACTURE 0F CONTAINER STRUCTURES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 18, 1919.

Application led April 12, 1918. Serial No. 228,080.

To all whom t may Concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM HENRY STREEPER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Manufacture of Container Structures, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the manufacture of container structures produced from a single blank, the invention `pertaining more particularly to apparatus adapted to produce structures of this general type.

Whilel containers have heretofore been produced from one-piece blanks, such containers are generally so formed as to require the addition of an outer wrapper-generally applied after the container has been filled and closed-this wrapper being designed to provide the nished appearance to the package. Other form of container structuressuch for instance as shells-have also been provided, but these have generally been of a composite formation, such for instance as by the use of a scored blank of heavy paperboard, this being folded into the desired shape, after which a thin paper wrapper is applied to the exterior faces thereof and generally inturned on to the inner side of the shaped blank.

On the contrary, the present invention is designed to provide the complete structure formation-whether in the form of a container or of a shellwfrom the single blank, and the invention contemplates the use of a blank of comparatively light stock and weight and which may have characteristics of pliability, although the invention is not limited in these respects.

Obviously, the commercial success of con' tainer structures of this type is dependent to a more or less extent upon the ability to manufacture in quantity, the relative cost of manufacture, and the character of the finished product as to appearance and serviceability.

While the present invention relates to the apparatus for manufacturing container structures of this general typeand not to the product, the ability to provide the satisfactorylproduct is an essential in the apparat-us. 'f'f nd in order to produce this result,

certain problems must be solved in order that the desired result can be obtained, and to permit understanding of these problems, a short statement is made as to the container structure itself.

A container structure must necessarily have the stiffness requisite for service in the particular use to which it is to be put, and this stiffness is obtainable in various ways. For instance, in the type of container above referred to, this is obtainable by special and more or less complicated forms of blanks, but the resultant container is generally of such appearance as to require the use of anadditional wrapper in order to produce the desired finished appearance. On the other hand, shell structures are dependentmainly upon the siffnessr of the material employed in the heavy stock blank. When, however, the container structure isA formed complete from a single blank which', for instance, may carry the printed matter preliminary to the container-forming operation, the particular formation becomes of material importance in order that the proper container appearance may be had. And when the blank is formed from a more or less pliable stock, the problems are further complicated by the necessity for producing the desired stiffness by means other than the stiffness of the matcrial itself.

Container structures capable-of meeting these conditions are known to me, and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, these structures being in both container and shell form, and are oftwo general types, each, however, being designed to provide the complete structure from a single blank and to provide such structure where the blank is of pliable material. In these structures, the desired stiffness is provided by the manner of folding and the manner in which the folded parts are secured together and reinforced. For instance, in one of the type` the container has the end formation as a unitary structure and foldable into a multi-ply end formation, the arrangement being such as to have predetermined folding lines in the for- .mation, the multi-ply structure being held in itsfolded position by means of a marginal end lap which extends from the outer face of the formation over the exposed edges of the plies and on to the inner face` of the formation, the adhesive securing ofthe end lap -the infolding of a marginal lap carried by the walls, the result being that in the finished container, the three walls have edges which are reinforced. by a marginal lap structure, while in the shell formation all of the walls have edges which are so reinforced.

In the other type of container structure,

- the end formation is provided rby wings which are turned in, one of the wings forming the outer face of the end formation and carrying the marginal end lap Ias in the other type, the principal difference being that this second type requires additional adhesive connection in securing the wings together, the end lap structure being appliedas in the first type.

From this statement of the general 'typesv of the container structures, it will be readily understood that a number of problems are presented 'which are not met with in the container structure formations heretofore manu"- factured by machines. absence of material stiffness in the stocky of the blank provides a problem in that a substitute for. this stiffness must be provided in order that proper folding action can be j' obtained; while this substitute can be provided by the use ofl a form, the problem relative to the latteris complicated by the necessity for inturning the adhesively coated laps on to the inner face of the folded blank while the latter is being held. Another factor is the necessity of operating in.- connection with an adhesively coated blank; while adhesively coated 'blanks have here-i tofore been employed for wrapping packages or covering machines, these blanks have been of thin paper stock.

Another problem, in this connection, and which will be understood from 'the difference in the types of containers shown, is

"the question of apparatus for producing these container structures, 1t bein readily understood 'that where speci-al mac required for producing a particular. type, the cost of manufacture of the container. structure .is necessarily increased,- leven5v though such machines ,might be designed to take care of the condition of vari-ation in sizes of the structure. f

Among the general objects of the invention, therefore, are to be found:

(a) The provision of apparatus adapted to produce complete container structures from a single blank; l The provision of apparatus capable F or instance, the

nes are after more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims. Y'

' In the accompanying drawings, in which l similar reference characters indicate similar parts in each of the views:

Figure l is a fragmentary view in side elevation showing va portion of a standard or organized machine modied to carry out the present invention.

-' Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the blankreceiving table.

v Fig. 3 is a top plan view of portions of the I folding mechanisms located -below the blankz jrec'e'iving the latter being omitted.

i'giffis-aperspective view, more or less [da'gr'ammatie,l showing the initial stage of the folding Voperation.

Figi-75 is .a-perspective view, with parts i brokenaway,` vshowing portions of the folding mechanism, the view indicating a succeeding stage of the folding operation. y

Figs. 6, and- 8 show respectively suc-V ceeding stages of the folding operation, Figs. 6 and 7, being views partly in4 front elevation and partly in section, Fig. 8 being a vlew in transversesection.

Fig, 9 is a perspective view, with broken away, of one form of container structure. p.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing the blank lfrom whichfthecontainer of Fig. 9 isfoimed. .Y

Figs. 11, 12, 13 'and '14 are perspective views indicating different stages of the 4folding operation'when the blank of Fig. 10 is` em loyed.

parts ig. 15 is a perspective. view showing a i blank adapted for the production of 'a shell. Fig. .16 is' a. perspective view of a shell made from the blank of Fig. .15..

Fig. 17 is a view similar to Fig. 15 showa blank of a different type. ig. 18is 'a detail perspective view illustrating a change made in operation by 'reason of the use of the blank of Fig. 17, the

yiew corresponding to the stage illustrated 1n Fig. 5 Before describing 'the apparatus for producing the 'container structures,` I will rst give a brief description ofY various forms of container structures which are capable of being produced, in order that the solution to the different problems of apparatus requirements will be more clearly understood. One general form of container structure is shown in Figs. 9 and 14, this structure being formed from a blank of the. general character indicated in Fig. 10, wherein b indicates the bottom section, a and c the 4front and rear wall sections respectively,

and d 'a closure section, each of sections a, b and c carrying wings a, b', and c', these wings, in this particular form, being integrally. connected together, the'lcombined length of the wings equaling the length of the corresponding sections of the blank. Wing portion Z2 additionally carries a marginal end lap b2 which is adhesively coated, and wing portions-a and c are preferably arranged with a weakened line formation indicated at m. In addition, section a carries a marginal side lap a2 also adhesively coated, while section carries wings d and an end lap d2. It will be notedthat Fig. 10 shows the outer corner of wing portions a and c as cut away or omitted; this is to facilitate folding, but is not essential.v

In producing the container from the blank, sections a and c, with their wing portions, are first brought into a position perpendicular to the plane of bottom section b, section d extending in the plane of section c, thus producing. a more or less trough-like structure such as shown for instance in Fig. 11` (also Fig. 4). Wing portions a and c are then folded inwardly, each producing a.

two-ply structure, one of the wing portions being folded slightly in advance of the other the two-ply formations of each of wings a in order that the two structures may be properly folded to produce a multi-ply end formation, an intermediate stage ofthe folding perationfbeing shown in Fig. 12 (also in Fig. 5). This infolding of wing p ortions a and c also has the effect of raising wing portion b', the completion of the .folding of wing portions a and o practically bringing wing portion b into position perpendicular to the plane of section b, thus producing a multi-ply end formation of which wing portion b forms the outer ply,

and e being in more or less of a superposed relation with the inner ply of one of these wing portions forming the inner ply of the composite end formation, the structure at this stage having the body portion of the container folded, with laps a2 and b2-each adhesively coated-projecting upward above the top plane of such body portion-relatively upstanding with respect to the plane of the bottom section. These laps are then turned in at angles to the plane of the walls from which they project-the formation shown in Fig. l3-afterwhich the inturned laps are carried downward-infolded-on to the inner faces of the wall formations and adhesively applied thereto as indicated in Figs. 9 and 14. Section d `and its wings and laps are not designed to be loperated upon, since they form the closure, the wings and laps bein adapted to extend into the interior of tile container after the commodity has been placed in position.

As will be seen, the front and rear walls of the container are of single thickness of stock, and unless provision is made for reinforcing or bracing the upper edges of these walls, the container is subject to collapsing action. In this particular form of container this stiffening action of 1the rear wall is provided by the line of fold between sections c and d which, when the container is closed,

provides a fold which is of right angular formation, the fold thus acting as a sti-fiening means similar to the folds between the front andrear Walls and the bottom wall.

However, the upper edge of the front wall ple, must be maintained in folded position, Aand this is provided by the infolded laps vb2 which join the inner and outer plies of the formation overlying the edges of the intermediate plies, this arrangement being such as to maintain the end .formation intact by the single point of adhesive connection. In

' addition, these end laps b2 also serve as reinforcing laps. I e

. As will be readily understood, apparatus for producin a structure of this type must be capable o providing thefolding operationsyin a positivemanner, and since the material may be of a pliable character, the apparatus itself must carry the stiffening structure in order that proper folding may This be had.l This brings into the question the I character of the form to be employed for the reason that the form must not only be capable of functioning as such while the blank is being folded but in addition, must be of suchv character as to permit of the infolding of laps a2 and b2 into position as well as to provide for application of pressure after the lap infolding action` has been had in order that the adhesive `connection may be properly made and at least partially set. These two requirements are'of material importance.

if, instead of the blank of Fig.. 1o, I

into a shell formation, 4as indicated in Fig.

16, lap c2 being infolded similarly to lap a2 and forming a reinforce for the rear Wall, the end formations being the same with the two types of blanks. f

Another way of producing the shell formation is by the use of a 'blank such as shown in Fig. 17, in which wings a and c are separate from wings b so as to provide practically a single ply thickness to a wing excepting at different points. Since there is no positive connection between wing b and wings a and c', these wings are adhesively connected by the use of adhesive zones b3 formed on wings b. AThe laps of the blank are similar to those of Fig. 15. Fig. 18indicates an intermediate step in 'the folding of this blank, this view showing the manner in lwhich wings a and c are infolded, wings b then being brought up into contact with the infolded wings a and c and the laps then infolded as in the other form. l

Obviously, the blank shown in Fig. 10 may have the wing formation of the blank of Fig. 17, and .thus produce a container instead of a shell structure.

As will 'be understood, each of these particular forms of container structures shown provides for similar problems, the main. difference being the manner in which wings a and c are infolded and the particular type of blank employed. But the container structure produced in each case is formed from asingle blank; and each structure is not -materially dependent upon th/eJ stiffness of the material from which the blank is made, the stidness being provided more or less by the particular fold formation and the manner in which the-parts Aare reinforced. In addition, each form presents the problem of taking care of theblank folding operation, working under single blank conditions, as well as the. infolding and securing of the laps in position.

As presently pointed out, the problems involvedare more or less dependent for solution upon the character of the form employed, this solution enabling standard machines to beemployed for the purpose of producing container structures of thls type; For the purpose of explaining the invention and the solution to the problems, I have selected, for illustrative purposes only," a standard machine in general use, based more or less upon the disclosure of the atent to -Reifsnyder & Fath, No. 1,131', 92, dated March 16, 1915, this machine being designed for forming sealed wrapped packages, but which can, by a few slmple changes, be converted int-o a machine capable `standard machine.

of carrying out the manufacture of container structures such as herein disclosed.

This a'bilit'y to employ standard machines .for this purpose by a few simple changes 1s, of course, of positive adyantagein that it permits the production ofthese container structures as an additional function of such As pointed out, the changes in structure are small, and in illustrating the present invention I have therefore confined myself more or less to the portions of the .apparatus which are involved in theV changed structure, sufficient disclosure of the standard parts -being made in order that inspection of the disclosure herein and and that of 'the patent will clearly indicate the changes, the apparatus practically having the same cycle of operations shown in the patent so `that no detailed description of the orgamzed machine as an entirety need be presented herein, such description being contained in said patent. And in order that the parts may `be more clearly identified, corresponding parts of the two structures are, as far as possible, correspondingly indicated by reference characters.

21 indicates the table, having an opening 22 inl its center through which the various instrumentalities .are made `active Ain the folding operations. 23 indicates 'a vertical standard having an arm or bracket 24 which projects toward the center line of the :machine. Said arm or bracket carries annpright plate 25 provided with two vertical gui-des 26 'between which slide 27 is'mounted, the lower end of this slide carrying a pusher block or plunger 28--constitutiug a portion of the composite form presently de-v scribed in detail. Slide 27 is given a reciplrocating movement to move block 28 through opening 22 by means of counter-V bal'anced lever 29 fulcrumed at 30 on-an arm 31 projecting from standard 23, the free end of lever 29 being pivoted to a link 32, 4and being adjustable within the link lby means of a thumb screw 33. The link is pivotally connected to the slide by a pin 34. The vibratory movements of lever 29 on itsfulcrum through the action of cam groove 43 of rotating drum 42, provide for reciprocating movements of slide' 27, thus imparting similar movements to block 28. l

The drive mechanism 'of drum 42 is not disclosed herein, one form of operating mechanism for rotating the l/drum being shown in said patent. i

- Slide 27 carries lugs 46, each lugcarrying' a'slidable rod 47, these rods extending upwardly through suitable openings in plate 25 to a point above this plate where they are connected by crosshead 48. Y ends of rods 47 are connected to a' plate 49 which is secured to an upper pusher block The .lower u or plunger 50 which also forms one of the.

blocks of the composite form, block 50 having an opening for the passage of stem 27a of slide 27 and also having openings for the passage of guide pins 28a carried by the lower pusher block or plunger 28.

Slide 27 and crosshead 48 are connected by a resilient or yielding connection, shown in the form of a coil spring 52, this spring normally tending to cause crosshead 48 to travel with slide 27 but permitting the movement of the crosshead to be restrained without affecting the slide movements at predetermined times, suchy restraint serving to increase the tension of the spring, so that when the restraint is removed, the spring may act as a power device in causing the crosshead and the parts carried thereby to move rapidly to position.

The composite form referred to includes -a third or intermediate form block indicated at 200, this block being supported by block 50 through the use of rods or bolts 201 which extend through both blocks, these bolts carrying coil springs 202 located between the blocks, the latter having recesses within which these springs may be housed when the opposing faces of the two blocks are brought practically into contact as presently described. Bolts 201 are shown as having a head exposed on the under face of block 200, the opposite end of the bolts carrying nuts which permit of adjustability of the maximum distance 'between these blocks when the blocks are separated. Where the heads of bolts 201 are exposed in this manner, block 28 may carry recesses 28b for housing these heads when block 200 is brought into contact with block- 28. f

In practice, the three block members of the form-28, 50 and 200-are normally in contacting position above the blank-receiving plate presently described, the positions of the block members relative to each other being approximately as shown in Fig. 8, block member 28 being` positively `held by slide 27, while blocks 200 and 50 are held in contact therewith through the action of spring 52 in drawing downcrosshead 48, it being understood that the power of spring 52 is in excess of that of springs 202. The composite form is brought into contact with the blank and with the' block thus relatively positioned at the beginning of the folding operation, and at a predetermined period in the downward travel of slide 27, crosshead 48 is temporarily restrained from advancing with the slide-the mechanism for this will be presently describedthe result beingthat plate 49 will be held from downward movement, thus temporarily holding block 50 from further downward movement; As block 28 continues its movement, block 200 will follow onward with block 28 under the action of springs 202, until the distance between blocks 50 and 200 reaches the maximum, whereupon further movement of block 200 will be stopped, continued movement of slide 27 carrying block 28 away from block 200. f

At the proper time, slide 27 is held from further downward movement, leaving the three blocks in. spaced relation, ,as indicated in Fig. 6, for instance. The succeeding movements of these blocks are provided by releasing the restraint placed on crosshead 48, the result being that blocks 50 and 200 will move downward, retaining the maximum distance therebetween until block 200 again contacts with block 28, whereupon further downward movement of the crosshead will cause block 50 to move downward until all of the blocks are in the position shown in Fig. 8, this downward movement of the crosshead being provided by the action of spring 52.

During the downward movement, periods of dwell in movement are had, other than those indicated, for the purpose of providing specific operations which will be presently referred to. These dwells in connection with block 28 are providedby the pattern of groove 43 of drum 42. Y

The means for restraining the movement of crosshead 48 may be provided in any desired form, this action, in the structure of the patent, being in the form of a pivoted lever 60 which has its movement controlled by a cam groove 44 of drum 42, lever 60 carrying a plate or stop 62 which extends into the path of travel of a pin 63 carried by crosshead 48. As will be understood` crosshead 48 is free to move downward with slide 27 as long as pin 63 is out of Contact with plate 62, or if, when in contact with such plate, lever 60 is operated at a speed to cause the downward movement of plate 62 to equal the speed of travel of slide 27. If, however, lever 60 is operated'to cause plate 62 to restrict free movement of pin 63, crosshead 48 will be held from movement, thus increasing the tension of spring 52. Said spring will then operate to bring the several block members into contact as may be permitted by the downward travel of plate 62 or when permitted by the tuck-in devices, it being understood, of course, that spring 52 will normally tend to move plate 49 downward, the contact of block 200 with block 28 and that of block 50 with block 200 limiting the doiwnward movement of crosshead 48 rela` tive to slide 27. ,Y c

Referring now more particuilarly to the folding and applying mechanisms, 203-203 indicate two plates adjustably supported above opening 22, these plates conrbinedl)v forming a 'support for the blank` land being positioned yparallel toeachother to form a space therebetween slightly greater than the width of bottom section 5 of the blank, this space extending throughout the length of the blank and being on the center line of the machine. As shown, these plates are adjust'able toward and from each other to acto the blank, the form-which has abottom area substantially equal to the area of bottom section b passlng 'into -contact with o,

said section of the blank and carrying the blank downward between these plates -into an open-ended throat located below the plates and which may be formed in suitable manner, the drawings indicating the walls of this throat as formed by a plurality of depending plates 204 supported on rods 205. T he walls of the throat are preferably arranged to be adjustable relative to each other to accommodate for variations in sizes of blanks, and if desired, the walls may be ad,- ditionally movable to increase the distance therebetween to prevent difficulty during return movement of the form.

7l indicates the yieldably supported platen of said patent, it understood that the blank is clamped between platen 71 and block 28 at the beginning of the downward movement of the blank into the throat. Consequently, this initial downwardmovement of the form-with the blocks in contacting relationLwill cause the blank to be folded into an elongated trough-like formation such as indicated in Fig. 4, wings a and c being foldedup in a manner similar to walls a and c, the open ends of the space between plates 203 and the open ends of the throat, permitting wing portions b' and laps b2 to pass downward freely.V Where the blank employed is of the type indicated in Fig. 10, section l will project upwardly in the plane I of section c, as indicated in Fig. 4. As will be seen, the contacting positions of the form members locates these members entirely below the plane of la'ps a2 (and c2 in case the blank of Figs. 15 or 17 is employed).

rPhe rela-tive positions of pin 63 and plate 62 aresueh that slide 27 is permitted a considerable range of movement without disturbance of the relations between crosshead 48 and slide 27, and during this period, the Y movement of the form is controlled entirely l by the pattern of cam groove 43. vIt is durmg this period that a dwell is provided in extent, as presently described, and where the blank of Fig. 17 is employed to provide for the inturning of these wing portions of that blank. During this dwell a suiicient amount of inturning action of these wing portions.y

takes place to insure that as the downward travel of slide 27 and the contacting forms is resumed, thesewing portions will be in position to permit of the proper folding of wing members b, this latter being provided by rolls or brushes 93-the brush form being preferred-the downward travel of the Y forms causing the brush to fold wing member b into proper position as the outer ply of the end formation of the containeror shell. As in the patent, brush 93 is movable toward and from the operating position.

Where the blank has the wing formation of 'the general type shown in Fig. 17, the infolding of sections a and 0 may be provided by vfolders 83 shown in the patent as mounted on bars 81, these folders being of a type which is applicable for use in the folding of a blank of thisA type. Where, however, a blank of the type' shown in Figs. 10

or 15 be empflloyed, I prefer to employ a different type of folder, these being shown more particularly in Figs. 3 andv V5.

As shown more particularly in Fig. 5, 206

j ustably mounted in `the direction of length of bar 81, arm 206 carrying a pivot 207 on whcich is mounted a rocking lever 208. One end of this lever carries a roller 209 adapted to ride in contact with a face of a bar 210 adjustably positioned above bar 81. Lever 208 carries a folding plate or blade 211 of the desired configuration; since each wing member-a or c-.-is foldable on the'line m to provide a more or less triangular contiguration to the member in folding position,

` plate or blade 211 is formed 'to permit of folding in this manner. Roller 209 is maintained in contact with bar 210 by a spring structure 212.

As pointedout in said patent, bar 81 isdesignates an'arm having a slide 206iL adadvanced, and since bar 210 remains stationary, lever 208 will be permitted to rock on its pivot through the action of spring 212, the result being that plates or4 blades 211 will not only be moved inward under the inward movement of bar 81, but will, inaddition, be swung on pivots 207. As a result, blades or plates 211 are brought into contact with the upstanding wings a and c `of the blank and, as the advance of'bar 81 continues, the continu-al change in position of the plates or blades will cause these wing members to be each folded inward into atwoply configuration, the completion of this movement carrying these plates or blades intov the position shown in dotted lines in Fig.\3.

This position,

however, is not reached until after'the form has resufmed its downward travel, the resumption of movement taking place at an intermediate period of the folding movements of plates or blades 211. This particular arrangement' in connection with this blank is found desirable by reason of the fact that the outer ply of each of these wing members is integrally connected with wing member b', so that to provide for a complete folding of wing members a and 0, it is more or less essential that wing members b be also moved to folded position.

As this latter is provided by brush or roller 93 and the latter is made effective by the downward travel of the form and blank, it will be readily understood that this downward travel is resumed at suchttime as will cause the coperative relation of members 93 and plates or blades 211 in completing the fold of the end formation.

As will be readily understood, the parts are so arranged that one of the blades of an end formation is made active slightly in advance of that of the other blade or may be made to travel at a slightly greater speed, in order that the two wing formations are not brought into edge Contact, the purpose being to have follow that of the other side to produce the multi-ply formations, wing member b being folded to provide the outer ply of this formation. I

While the form resumes its downward travel before plates or blades 211 have completed their folding operation, the plates or blades continue eifective until the folded p-ositions are reached, it being understood, of course, that the downward movement of the iform and the blank simply acts to gradually carry the folded structure below the -17 may be folded by the wing member of one side.

plane of these blades, the folds all being below these blades, so that the latter are free to pass out from between the folds. AsV a result, the blades may remain active in the folding operation until approximately the time when the blank leaves the blades. When this occurs, the function of the blades has been completed, and bars 81 may retreat to place the plates or blades in their inactive positions. As willpbe understood, the folded relation of wing members a and o is retained through the folding of wing member b by the action of brush 93. And as the latter is located below blades 211, it will be readily understood that by the time wing b" closely approaches the vertical, the relative movements of form and plates or blades will have been such as to insure thatthe plates or blades will be kept out of contact with the adhesive coating of laps b2.

While wings a and c of the blank of Fig. this particular form of folding mechanism, the latter is not necessary for that type of blank, a simple advance and retreat movement of the folder being sufficient to provide this infolding operation of wings 0; and c', such for instance as is provided by the folders of the patent.

During at least the major portion of this end folding operation, it is desirable that the three members of the form -be in their contacting sitions in order that a form substantiallequivalent to the size of the interior of the container to be formed is present. This enables the desired corner effect to be produced on'the various folds and insures a better finished product. However, as heretofore pointed out, it is necessary that laps b2 be not only inturned, but also infolded so as to contact with and be adhesively secured to the inner face of the container over the top of the l'atter. Hence it is necessary to `provi'de"firstvan inturning of these laps together with lap a2 (and lap c2 if the latter be employed) at approximately' right angles to the planes of the walls of which these laps form a part, and then move these inturned laps downwardly within the container. i This latter action is provided by the uplper form block as in organiz'ed machines of this general type for providing the wrapping or covering'operations of box shells. type of organized apparatus is not entirely satisfactory under. conditions of providing for the formation of container structures of the type herein indicated, due to the fact that the upper fonm block must be separated from the lower block to permit the lap to be inturned and to provide this separation, the upper form block must be moved entirely out of the embryo shell. As a result, the upper edges of the vertical walls of the shell or container would be unsupported-against reaches a position where lap 'b2' the intur infolded and. the vertical wall as formed of the samematerial. In the usual shell forming operations, the resistance to the inturning pressure of the light weight covering blank is provided by the stili' material of the second blank. In the one -blank type of structures, however, this auxiliary stitt'en ing element of the product is entirely absent, so that a substitute must be found therefor, and this is provided, in the present invention, byv the intermediate form block 200. f At sometime after the end folding opera- Itions have reached a point where it is safe for block 50 to pass out of the interior of the embryo container orshell, pin 63 passes in`to Contact with plate 62, the result that block 50 is temporarily held from further Idownward movement, the continued downward movement of block 28 completing the folding of wings 6', block 200 remainin'g 1n contact with block 2-8-through the action of springs 202-until ,block 200 reaches the point of its maximum distance rom block 50 as determined by bolts 201, whereupon block 200 also becomes stationary, block 28 continuing ,its movement alone,

ally reaching its lower position. The re1- ative adjustments are 28 has reached its lower extreme of movement, the upper face of blockv 200 will be approximately liush'with the upper edges of folded wings a and c', laps b2 project- Ainlg above the top plane of block 200 and vopposite the space' between blocks 50 and 200. Laps a2' and c2' willv also be similarly positioned. As a result, the upper edges of the container or shell are physically supported by this block 200 which also has an area corresponding to the area of the bottom of the product, so that when the lap-inturning operations begin on these laps, these wall edges will be absolutely supported against any inward collapsing` and the desired pressure can be applied to these laps to produce -1 the bend without affecting the structure.

The adjustment of bolts 201 Yand the timing of the movements of slide 27 and crosshead 48 are such that slide 27 will reach its lower extreme of movement when the upper edges of the folded end wings are approximately on the plane of the u.' r face of presser blocks 98 carried by izfeme 97, at which time blocks 50v and 200' are separated their maximum distance vand block 200 is spaced its maximum distance from block 28,

the upper face of block 200 also being approximately on the plane of these edges, this being the position shown in Fig. 6. This also locates fthe front and rear sections ofthe blank in similar position with respect to presser blocks 98 located opposite pressure which, when a one. piece blank 1s employed, has the lap to be .is to such that when block' wall Y the ends and at the front of the folded blank where the latter is of the type of Fig. 10 and additionally at the rear where .the

blank is of the type shown in Figs. 15 or 17, these fingers being carried by horizonl tally-sliding frames 95. These tuck-in fingers are normally retracted and are ad-l vanced when lthe folded blank has been' clamped in' this manner, the result being that these marginal laps are bent inward by the action of these fingers, the latter serving to carry the laps inward to a position where they will lie within the path of movement of block 50 when the latter resumes its ldownward travel and passes into contact with the la lis will'be understood, the uniformity of fold of these marginal laps is more or less dependent on the start of the fold`the formation of the line ofbreak of the blank-'- the proper inturning action and formation of the bend being dependent more or less o n the start of the bending action. After the -line of break has been provided, the inturning movement simply provides the lap movement on this line of break. It is mainly to provide for this initial or starting ofthe infolding of the laps that the temporary clampingaction described is provided, the clamping of the walls insuring the formation of the proper line of break. After this lap inturning action has been started and the line of break formed, this clamping action is not material, and hence :the timing cycle is arranged so that at a suitable time after the break has been completed, crosshead 48 is permitted to begin its downward travel under the power of spring 52, this downward movement causing blocks 50 and 2.00 t9 move downwardly with the spacing therebetween maintained by the action of springs 202, this downward movement continuing while lingers 96 are continuing the infolding action, the result being that block 200 is carried downward away from the upper edges of the walls, as for instance shown in Fig. 7, this view showing the parts in a position where block 50 is approaching. the point where it becomes active in turning the laps downward, fingers 96 being in their .advance positions, block 50 being temporarily arrested by contact with these fingers (block 200 also being held) The, retracting movement of fingers 96 then takes place, releasing block 50, locating the marginal laps properly in the path of travel of block 50.

As crosshead 48 continues its downward movement, block 20|'0 passes into contact with block 28 and is held from further movement without, however, affecting the operation ofl the remaining parts carried by crosshead 48, so that block 50 continues its downward movement and enters the space vacated by block 200, the movement of block 50 obviously turning down these laps'which have been infolded by fingers 96 and placing these laps parallel to and in contact with the inner faces of the walls of which they form a part, block 50 continuing its movement until it comes into contact with seated block 200, the position shown in Fig. 8, this contact limiting the further downward movement yof crosshead 48. After block 50 has reached this position, exterior pressure is applied to y the walls of the folded container in order to set the adhesive connection; this pressure application is provided by presser blocks 98.

From the above it will be seen that activity of presser blocks 98 is required at two particular periods, first to provide the clamping action when the line of break' is being formed, and during the application of the setting pressure. During the time intervening between these two periods these blocks may be comparatively inactive, and as it is desirable that the downward movement of blocks 50 and 200 be not affected by any pressure conditions, I preferably retract `blocks 98 to a desirable extent during this intervening eriod, thus permitting free movements o blocks 50 and 200. In addition, I prefer to vary the amount of pressure at the two active periods, the initial pressure being a light pressure suiiicient only to provide for the temporary clamping action, the second period of activity providing for heavy pressure in order to produce the proper setting action. These conditions are obviously obtainable by the character of the operating cam or cams which controls the operation of these presser blocks. Both pressure applications are made when the form is at its lowerextreme of movement.

This setting pressure practically completes the container structure formation, and after these presser blocks have completed their activity, slide 27 is moved upwardly, thus withdrawing the composite form and carrying the container structure from the folding instrumentalities, platen 71 holding the container structure on the form during this form-retreatingy movement until .the platen reaches its upper extreme of movement, at which timethe container structure is practically exposed above plates 203 and at a point beyond liability of being stripped from the form by the apparatus structure. The container is then stripped from the form in any suitable manner, as by hand for instance, and a new blank placed in position.

From the above, it willbe readily seen that the successful formation of the container structure is more or less dependent upon the presence of the wall support at the time the line of break is Abeing produced. Since this support can not be provided by the blank itself, it must be provided as a part of the apparatus, and the problem of providing such support as a part of an or-v ganized automatic machine is one, which must be solved in order to provide for effiv cient and satisfactory production. As above pointed out, this support is had by the use of the intermediate block y200 which is a art of the form block and which is operated 1n such mannerl as to permit of the usual operations of fbrm blocks 28 and 50. It will thus vbe seen that the successful operation becomes more or less dependent upon the use of a three-member form block instead of a two-member block as in the usual shell forming operations. Obviously, such threemember form could be` employed in connection with the usual shell formation-intermediate block 200 remaining more or less inactive-so that with blocks of the proper size, the composite form shown herein may be used for the production of either one or two-piece shell structures.

The several blockswhich are preferabl)7 of similar dimensions on a plane taken trans- I versely of. the block axis-are removably supported 1n order that the changes may be made to take care of conditions brought is not limited to use in connection with this particular form of apparatus nor to the particular container structure formations disclosed herein, it being obvious that the invention may be employed in connection with specific forms of apparatus of various types and adapted to produce container structures of various types.

While I have herein shown and described an embodiment of the invention for carrying out the purposes herein'disclosed, it will be readily understood that changes or modifications therein may be found desirable or essential in meeting the exigencies of use, and I desire to be understood as reserving the right to make any and all such changes or modifications as may be found desirable or necessary,in so far as the same may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the accompanying claims when broadly construed.

What I claim is:

1. In an organized machine for folding blanks into container structures having marginal laps and wherein the laps are infolded into contact with interior faces of the structure walls, folding instrumentalities operative to fold a blank into structure formation, said instrumentalities including means for temporarily supporting the inner faces of the free edges of thestructure walls during inturning of the marginal laps.

In an organized machine for folding blanks into container structures having marginal laps and wherein the laps are infolded into contact with interior faces of the structure walls, folding instrumentalities operative to fold a blank into structure formation, said instrumentalities including means for temporarily supporting the inner faces of the free edges of the structure walls during inturning of the marginal laps, said means being movable from supporting position during lap infolding movements.

3. In an organized machine for folding blanks into container structures having marginal laps and wherein the laps are infolded into contact with interior faces of the structure walls, folding instrumentalities operative to fold a -blank into structure formation, said instrumentalities including a multiplexnember form including means for temporarily supporting the inner faces of the free edges of the structure walls during inturning of the marginal laps.

.4. In an organized machine for folding blanks into container structures having marginal laps and wherein the laps are infolded into contact with interior faces of the structure walls, folding instrumentalities operative to fold a blank into structure formation, said instrumentalities including a multiplemember form having one of its members operative to locate a lap in contact with its wall, said form having means for temporarily supporting the inner faces of the free edges of the structure walls during inturning of the marginal laps'.

5. In an organized machine for folding blanks into container structures having marginal laps and wherein the laps are infolded into contact with interior faces of the structure walls, folding intrumentalities operative to fold a blank into Structure formation, said instrumentalities including al multiplemember form, one o-f said form members being operative to locate a lap in contact with its wall, another of said members being operative to form a temporary support for the inner face of the free edge of such wall during inturning of the lap.

6. In an organized machine for folding blanks into container structures having marginal laps and wherein the laps are infolded into contact with interior faces of the structure Walls, folding instrumentalities operative to fold a blank into structure formation, said instrumentalities including a multiplemember form having a shiftable member operative to form a support for the inner faces of the free edges of the structure walls during inturning of the marginal laps.

7. In an organized machine for folding blanks into container structures having marf ginal laps and wherein the laps are infolded into contact with interior faces of the structure walls, folding instrumentalities operative to fold a blank into structure formation, said instrumentalities including a threemember form, the intermediate member being operative to form a temporary support for the inner face of the free edge of such wall during inturning of the lap.

8. In an organized machine for folding blanks into container structures having marlthe inner face of the free edge of such wall during inturning of the lap.

9. In an organized machine for folding blanks into container structures having marginal laps and wherein the laps are infolded into contact with interior faces ofthe structure walls, folding instrumentalities operative to fold a blank into structure formation, said instrumentalities including a threemember form having its members in superposed relation, two of said members forming a unit and beingyieldably connected together to permit relative movement within predetermined limits, said form members being movable to locate said unit in spaced relation to the third member of the form during inturning of the lap and being shiftable toward a position of substantial Contact relation during movements of the lap into contact with its wall.

10. In an organized machine of the char- 11. In an organized machine of the character described, a, form comprising three superposed members movable relatively to each other, two adjacent members being yieldablyl connected to permit relative movement therebetween within predetermined limits, saidpair of members bein movable bodily relative to the third mem er.

12. In an organized machine o-f the character described, a form comprising three superposed members movable relatively to each other, the outer members of the form being independently operable to provide relative movements therebetween the intermediate member of the form belng yieldably supported by one of said outer members and having its movements relative to such supporting member controlled by the thirdy member.

13. In an organized machine of the character described, a form comprising three superposed members movable relatively to each other, the intermediate member being supported by and having a lost-motion operation with respect to one of the other members to permit relative movement therebetween, the remaining vmember being operative to control such relative movements.

14. In angorganized machine for folding blanks into container structures having marginal laps and wherein the laps are infolded into contact with interior faces of the structure walls, foldin instrumentalities operaf tive to fold a blan into structure formation, said instrumentalities including devices for turning in the marginal laps, and means for temporarily clampin the opposing faces of the upper edges of le structure walls and operatlve when said devicesl begin the turnin movement of the lap, said means being rendered inactive in advance of infolding of the lap into' contact with the wall,

15. In an organized machine for folding blanks into container structures having mar- 'nal laps and wherein the laps are infolded into contact with interior faces of the structure walls, foldin instrumentalities operative to fold a blan into structure formation, said instrumentalities including devices operative to turn in upstanding marginal laps, shiftable means for temporarily supporting the inner faces of the free edges of the structure walls during such la y inturning operation, means external of t e structure walls and adapted to coperate with said supportin means to clamp said walls, said cop`erating means being rendered active to clamp the walls in advance of device activity to turn the laps from upstanding position, and means for infolding ,the turned-1n laps when said supporting means has been shifted from its clamping position, said external means being operative to release the clamping action inadvance of infolding operation.

\ 16. In an organized machine for folding blanks into container structures having marginal laps and wherein the laps are infolded into contact with interior faces of the struc- Aing operation, means external of the structure walls and adapted to cooperate with said supporting means to clamp said walls, said coperating means being rendered active to clamp the walls in advance of device activity' yto turn the laps from upstandin position, and means for infolding the turne in laps when said supporting means has been shifted from its clamping position, said external means being operative to release the clamping action in advance of infolding operation and operative to apply a setting pressure to the infolded laps when said infolding means has completed its infolding operatlon.

17. In an organized machine for folding blanks into container structures having maral laps and wherein the laps are infolded 1nto contact. with interior faces of the structure walls, folding instrumentalities operative to fold a blank into structure formation, said instrumentalities including a multimember form, devices for turning in lipstanding marginal laps, external pressureapplying means, and means for correlating the operations of the form, devices, and said pressure-applying means to provide the following cycle of operations: apply a clamping action to the structure walls at the free edges of said walls, inturn the laps from the upstanding position,l release the clamping action and expose the inner faces of the wall free edges, infold the inturned laps into contact with such exposed faces, and app-ly a setting pressure to the infolded laps.

18. In an organized machine for folding blanks into container structures having mare ginal lapsand wherein the laps are infolded into contact with interior faces of the structure walls folding instrumentalities operative to fold a blank into structure formation, said instrumentaliti'es/ including a multi-member form, devices for turningv in upstanding marginal laps, external pressure-applying means, and means for correlating the operations of the form, devices, and said pressure-'appl 'ng means to provide the following cycle o operations: apply a clamping action to the structure walls at the free edges of said walls, inturn the laps from the upstanding position, release the clamping action and expose the inner faces of the wall free edges, infold the inturned laps into contact with such exposed faces, and apply a setting ypressure to the infolded laps, said pressure-applying means being active both in the clamp-ing and the setting pressure actions, the movements of said latter means being controlled to provide a light pressure during the clamping action and a heavy pressure during the setting action.

19. In an organized machine for folding blanksy into container structures having marginal laps and wherein the laps are infolded into contact with interior .faces of the strucupstanding position,- release the clamping action and expose the inner faces of the wall free edges, infold the linturned laps into contact with such exposed faces, and apply a setting pressure to the infolded laps, said pressure-applying means being active both in the clamping and the setting pressure actions, lthe movements of said latter means being controlled to provide a light pressure during the clamping action and a heavy pressure during the setting action, the structure Walls being held stationary between the successive pressure applications.

20. In an yorganized machine for folding blanks into container structures and wherein multi-ply end formations are produced, folding instrumentalities operative to fold a blank in-to. structure formation, said instrumentalities includingq a form, means cooperating with the form for folding the blank to place end-forming elements in upstanding position, means for folding said upstanding portions into a two-ply formation and inturning the folded structure relative to the form, opposing means folding instrumentalities operative to foldl a blank into structure formation, s-aid instru-mentalities including a form, means c0- operating with the form for folding the blank to place end-formingelements in upstanding position, and means for folding said upstanding portions into a two-.ply formation and inturning the folded structure relative to the form, said means including reciprocating` frames each carrying a folding device operative in connection with the formation at one end of the container', each device including a pivoted folding element, and means coperating with said elements for automatically providing a pivotal action thereof during the reciprocating movements of the frames. l

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM HENRY STREEPER. 

